Introduction Among John Steinbeck’s short novels, The Pearl (1947) embodies the most profound implications. Key Words: John Steinbeck, The Pearl, Social Protest, Organism of the Group-man, Parable Allegory, Kino ¾ĭepartment of English Aletheia University 326Ī Thematic Study on John Steinbeck’s The Pearl John Steinbeck’s The Pearl, therefore, presents multiple levels of meanings and touches many important themes recurring in Steinbeck’s works. In the process of pursuing the human dignity, Kino is initiated from a naïve and innocent fisherman into the sophisticated “man.” His journey is the journey of everyman and serves as an allegory to all human beings. Through the journey, Kino begins as an individual, then experiences as being the group-man and finally transcends to become the “successful” individual-the ideal man. As Kino regains his soul, he too accomplishes the quest for the dignity of man. Only by throwing the pearl back into the ocean can Kino regain his soul. As a parable, the greatest pearl Kino finds changes from the treasure to the torture while all the pleasures Kino anticipates along with the pearl turn out to be the disillusionment. The Pearl then initiates the theme of good and evil which becomes prevalent in Steinbeck’s later works. Just as Kino’s family is the microcosm of the fishing village so is the town the microcosm of the “world.” The correlation between individual member-unit and the larger unit of the group-man is skillfully achieved through Kino and the town.
The Pearl is also a study on the organism of the group-man which Steinbeck devoted himself to in the 1940s when he did research on the marine zoology in the Gulf of California. As the Indian fisherman Kino is cruelly treated by the doctor and the pearl buyer, the evils of a material world and the dark side of human nature are fully presented.
The Pearl is a social protest to fight against the corruptions in a civilized and commercialized society. It not only continues the recurring themes in Steinbeck’s fiction written in the 1940s like Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, and Cannery Row but also initiates those themes Steinbeck explores in later works like Wayward Bus and East of Eden. A Thematic Study on John Steinbeck’s The Pearl Huei-hun Tsai¾Ībstract John Steinbeck’s novelette The Pearl embodies multiple levels of themes in spite of its brevity.